References between collections
Some things in your life relate to other things. A trip visits several places; a recipe uses several ingredients. Reference fields let one collection point at items in another, so you can pick something once and see it everywhere it shows up.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”There are two reference field types:
- Reference — points at one item in a target collection.
- Multi-reference — points at any number of items in a target collection.
When you create the field, you pick which collection it points at (the target). Then when you add or edit an item, the chat assistant looks up the named item in the target collection and links to it.
References are stored as a structured link, not a copy. Renaming a referenced item shows up everywhere it’s referenced — there’s no stale text.
Why use one
Section titled “Why use one”Examples that benefit from references:
- A trips collection with a places visited multi-reference pointing at a places collection. Pick a place once; see every trip it appears in.
- A books collection with an author reference pointing at an authors collection. Renaming an author updates every book.
- A recipes collection with an ingredients multi-reference pointing at a pantry collection. Cross-reference what you cook with what you’ve got.
Reverse references
Section titled “Reverse references”If items in collection A reference items in collection B, you can ask the chat assistant “what’s referenced from this item?” and it calls the reverse-references tool. The result is the list of items in A that point at the item in B.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”- A reference field targets a collection you have access to — your own, or one shared with you through a group. The app’s picker shows both.
- Deleting a referenced item leaves the references in place — they’ll point at nothing. Re-link them by hand or by chat.
- A field’s target collection is set when the field is created. To retarget, delete the field and add a new one (the assistant can do this).